Space coupe carnival ride



Dec. 27, 1966 M. BUECHLE R 3,29 ,398

SPACE COUPE CARNIVAL RIDE Filed Feb. 8, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig./

Milton E Buech/er I N V15 N TOR.

WWW I,

Attorneys Dec. 27, 1966 M. BUECHLER 3,294,398

SPACE COUPE CARNIVAL RIDE Filed Feb. 8, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2 00 Milton Busch/er INVENTOR.

M- BUECHLER SPACE COUPE CARNIVAL RIDE Dec. 27, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 8, 1965 IOO Mi/fon Busch/er 1N VIJ'NTOR.

United States Patent 3,294,398 SPACE CQUPE (IARNIVAL RIDE Milton Buechler, Buechler Law Bldg, Lennox, S. Dak. 57039 Filed Feb. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 436,999 7 Claims. (Cl. 27236) The present invention generally relates to an amusement ride and more particularly such a ride that would appear in carnivals, fairs and the like in which prospective customers pay an admission price and obtain an amusement ride or thrill ride on the device.

An object of the invention is to provide a carnival ride in which the occupants thereof are disposed in an enclosure with seats which somewhat simulates a space vehicle or coupe.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an amusement ride in accordance with the preceding objects in which the occupants may tumble about a transverse axis thus providing a space tumbler as the occupant enclosure is oscillated about a transverse elevated axis somewhat in the nature of a swing.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide an amusement ride having a novel mechanism for oscillating the occupant housing supporting arms while each supporting arm assembly pivotally supports a pair of arms having an occupant housing adjacent each end thereof so that the motions obtained by the occupant housings will provide an amusement ride for the occupants.

Another very important obiect of the present invention is to provide a carnival ride which is easily assembled and disassembled for conveyance to new locations and which is simple to erect and is safe in operation yet produces a highly entertaining amusement ride.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the amusement ride of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the construction of FIGURE 1 with portions of the supporting base and mast omitted and illustrating the loading platform in elevated position;

FIGURE 3 is a view somewhat similar to FIGURE 2 but illustrating the loading platform lowered and the oc- 'cupant housings moved to a horizontal orientation;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse, sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 4-4 of FIGURE 3 illustrating further structural details of the operating mechanism of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 55 of FIG- URE 4 illustrating further structural details of the amusement ride; and

FIGURE 6 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 6-6 of FIG- URE 4 illustrating further structural details of the occupant housing.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the amusement ride device of the present invention which includes an elongated supporting base structure 12 of a construction having two parallel longitudinal rails 14 interconnected by end rails 16. At the center of the longitudinal rails 14, cross-rails 18 are provided which support upstanding support members 20 that rigidly support upper transverse rails 22. A central transverse beam 24 is provided between the 3,294,398 Patented Dec. 27, 1966 upper rails 22 and is supported rigidly in relation to the longitudinal members 14. The end of the upper beam 24 has an outrigger truss 26 pivotally attached thereto and the lower end of the truss 26 is pivotally attached to brackets 28 secured to the longitudinal rails 14. The outer end of each outrigger truss 26 is provided with a supporting foot or pad 30 that is adjustably attached to the outrigger 26 in the usual manner such as by supporting rod 32 so that the supporting base may be stabilized with the trusses 26 being pivotally supported from the base about vertical axes for folding movement to a position alongside of the base.

Supported from the base is an elongated upstanding main mast 34 having a plate 36 at the lower end thereof rigidified in relation to the mast 34 by a plurality of gussets 38. The plate 36 is hingedly attached to a supporting plate 40 carried by the central transverse I-beam 24 by the use of a hinge 42 along one edge thereof and a plate 36 is detachably retained against the plate 40 by fastening bolts 44 at the side thereof opposite from the hinge 42 thus releasably securing the main mast 34 in upright position.

At the upper end of the main mast 34, there is provided a transverse supporting member 46 having a tension cable 48 attached at each end thereof with the tension cable 48- extending downwardly and outwardly for connection with a bracket 50 adjacent the outer end of each outrigger truss 26 as illustrated in FIGURE 1 thus providing lateral support for the main mast 34.

For rigidifying the central support structure for the main mast 34, a pair of inwardly converging braces 52 are connected to the outer transverse members 16 of the base 12 with the inner ends thereof being secured to the central transverse I-beam 24 thus providing stability for the lower end of the main mast in opposition to the forces exerted on the main mast by the moving components of the amusement ride.

A supporting truss assembly 54 retains the main mast 34 in upright position along with the bolts 44. The truss 54 includes a pair of longitudinal members 56 forming the bottom chords of the truss and a central longitudinal angulated member 58 forming the top chord of the truss. The ends of the member 58 are interconnected to transverse end members 60 which also interconnect the ends of the longitudinal members 56. The center high point of the chord member 58 is engaged with a vertical member 62 that connects to a transverse member 64 that is in the plane of and connected with the longitudinal members 56 thus forming a rigid truss that is pivotally connected to brackets 66 carried by the braces 52 adjacent the outer ends thereof and brackets 68 carried by the central portion of the main mast 34 whereby the main mast 34 may be pivoted to a horizontal position for transport of the mechanism with the longitudinal mem bers 14 and the transverse members 16 forming a trailer frame under which wheel dolleys may be easily installed so that the device may be towed from one location to another after knockdown thereof after which the structure may be easily set up at a new location.

Supported from the cross member 46 at the upper end of the main mast 34 for oscillation about a horizontal axis is a pair of supporting arm assemblies 70 which includes longitudinally extending depending members 72 interconnected by transverse brace members 74. The upper end of each supporting arm assembly 70 is pivotally supported from a depending bracket structure '76 rigidly afiixed to the transverse member 46. Adjacent but spaced below the bracket structure 76, the inner longitudinal member 72 is provided with a bracket 73 to which is attached one end of a piston and cylinder assembly in the form of a hydraulically operated motor of the expansible piston and cylinder type which has its other end pivotally attached to the main mast 34 at point 82 so that upon expansion and retraction of the piston and cylinder assembly 80, the supporting arm assembly 70 may be caused to rock or oscillate about the horizontal axis defined by the supporting bracket structure 76.

As illustrated in FIGURE 5, the supporting brackets 76 each have inwardly extending pins 84 received in the ends of the tubular horizontal member 86 at the upper ends of the supporting assembly which are connected to the uppermost transverse member 74 of the supporting arm assembly 70 by straps or brackets 88. At the lower ends of the longitudinal side members 72, there is supported a generally H-shaped sub-frame 90 for pivotal movement about a central transverse axis. The subframe 90 includes a pair of longitudinal side members 92 interconnected by centrally disposed rigid transverse members 94. At the outer ends of the side members 92, there is pivotally supported an occupant housing generally designated by the numeral 96 for rotation about a transverse axis extending between the ends of the side members 92 by virtue of a horizontal stub axle 98 carried by the occupant housing 96 and journalled in the ends of the side members 92.

Each occupant housing 96 includes an outer shell 100 and an inner shell 102 which are concentrically spaced from each other. The outer shell 100 is provided with an annular channel-shaped member 104 at the bottom thereof which supports a Z-shaped angular member 106 and a bearing structure 108 for rotatably supporting the angular lower end 110 of the inner shell 102 for rotation about the longitudinal axis thereof. The inner shell 102 is provided with a bottom 112 and occupant seats 114 of any suitable construction are mounted on the interior of the inner shell 102 and on the bottom 112. Both the outer shell 100 and the inner shell 102 has transparent areas 116 formed therein which may be unbreakable glass, plastic or screening material to enable the occupant to look-out and also enable the occupant to be observed. The shells 100 and 102 taper at their upper ends and have a central vertical pivotal connection 118 for stabilizing the upper end thereof and further pivotally supporting the inner shell 102 for rotational relationship within the outer shell 100. The occupant may cause rotation of the inner shell 102 in relation to the outer shell 100 by virtue of a central wheel 120 generally in the form of a steering wheel being rigidly afiixed to a vertical support 122 that is fixed in relation to the outer shell whereby an occupant of the seat 114 may grasp wheel 120 and turn thus tuming the inner shell 102 in relation to the outer shell 100.

A locking structure for the arm 92 is provided in the form of a U-shaped bracket 124 mounted on the end of the piston rod 126 which is connected to a piston 128 carried by a laterally extending cylinder 130 carried by a supporting structure 132 whereby extension of the piston 128 will cause the bracket 124 to engage with the arm 92 for enabling the arm 92 to be orientated in a desired position for engagement with a loading ramp 134 that has a supporting member 136 at one end thereof for engaging the bottom surface of one of the occupant housings 96 thereby enabling occupants thereof to egress from a suitable door structure or the like. The door structure 138 is provided in the outer shell and a door structure 140 is provided in the inner shell 102. The opposite end of the loading platform 134 may be pivotally supported from the frame or merely resting on the ground surface and the platform 134 is provided with handrails 142 for the safety of the occupant as they load into and egress from the occupant housing.

A mechanism for elevating and lowering the loading platform 134 is provided and includes a hydraulic cylinder 144 pivotally attached to the bracket 146 carried by the longitudinal rails 14. The piston rod 148 is connected to the pivotal connection 150 between the relatively short link 152 and relatively long link 154. The short link 152 is pivoted to the bottom of the platform 134 as at 156 and the long link 154 is pivoted to the supporting base as at point 158 whereby the links 152 and 154 form somewhat of a knee brace which when pivoted toward a straight line position as illustrated in FIGURE 2 will elevate the loading platform and when pivoted into a collapsed position or acute angular relation illustrated in FIGURE 3, the platform 134 will be lowered to an out-of-the-way position.

Various mechanisms may be provided for elevating and lowering the loading platform and various types of loading mechanisms and platforms may be provided. For example, a permanent loading assembly may be construeted such that an extensible and retractible elevated platform may be provided for enabling the occupants to gain access to the occupant housing or leave the occupant housing when desired. The engagement of the supporting surface 136 with the fiat bottom of the occupant housing will effectively prevent rotation or pivotal movement of the occupant housing during the loading operation thereby avoiding the possibility of unexpected movement of the occupant housing during the loading and unloading operation.

Also, as illustrated, the occupant housing may be of any suitable shape, size and configuration other than the multi-sided configuration as illustrated in the drawings. The shape of the occupant housing may closely simulate a space vehicle thus further creating an impression of the occupants of the housings being propelled in space.

The mechanism which engages the frame or side members 92 is provided with means for actuation thereof for orientating the housings 96 in place for engagement by the loading platform. This mechanism includes the supporting arm 132 being hingedly connected to a transverse shaft 160 pivotally mounted on a bracket 162 rigid with the mast 34. The supporting arm 32 extends over top of a roller 164 which extends between the ends of a pair of side frame elements 166. The side frame elements 166 are interconnected at each end by a shaft structure 168 on which the roller structure is mounted. A similar roller is provided on each end of the shaft 168 and when considering the structure illustrated in FIGURE 4, the structure on the opposite side from that illustrated will be symmetrical therewith. At the side of each shaft 168, there is attached the piston rod 170 that is reciprocated in a cylinder 172 having the lower end thereof pivotally attached to a bracket 174 on the mast 34. This structure is also duplicated on both sides of the mast and the center of the side members 166 are pivotally supported by trunnion shafts 176 on the mast whereby the side frame elements 166 will combine with the rods or shafts 168 to form a rigid rectangular frame pivotal about the horizontal axis defined by the trunnions 176 and operated by expansion and contraction of the piston and cylinder assemblies which are disposed on both sides of the masts 34. Thus, the position of the sub-frame 90 may be varied by engaging the U-shaped element 124 either with a top or bottom surface of the arm 92 for orientating the subframe 92 and occupant housings 96 in a desired angular orientation for engagement by the load platform.

Also contemplated in this invention is the provision of means for enabling the occupant to control rotation of the inner shell of the housing by using a compressed air discharge assembly or the like. Also, the loading platform could be made sufiiciently long where it extends under the occupant housings to actually engage the bottom of two housings at once when the housings are orientated in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 3. Other mechanisms could be employed for raising and lowering the platform and in fact, a separate lift mechanism may be provided for elevating the loading platform.

A suitable motor and hydraulic pump and control valve and conduits and tubing or piping are employed for rocking the device like a swing and also for operating the mechanism for lowering the housings to the desired position so that the loading platform can be elevated into engagement therewith as illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An amusement ride comprising a supporting base, an upright supporting mast operatively supported by said base, a laterally extending arm at the upper end of said mast, a depending frame supported from said arm for swinging movement of the depending frame about substantially a horizontal axis, a sub-frame disposed at the lower end of the depending frame, means pivotally supporting the sub-frame adjacent its center from the lower end portion of the depending frame for rotation of the sub-frame about a substantially horizontal axis parallel to the horizontal axis of movement of the depending frame, a pair of occupant receiving housings mounted in said sub-frame adjacent the ends thereof, means mounting the housings in the sub-frame for rotation thereof about substantially horizontal axes, each housing having an access means incorporated therein for enabling occupants to enter and egress in relation to the housing, and means interconnecting the depending frame and its supporting structure for oscillating the depending frame about its horizontal axis of movement, said sub-frame and housings being freely rotatable about spaced horizontal axes.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein each housing includes concentric inner and outer shells, said inner shell being rotatable about an axis substantially perpendicular to the horizontal axis of rotation of the housing, and means disposed in the inner housing and rigid with the outer housing whereby an occupant of the inner shell may rotate the inner shell in relation to the outer shell.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said mast includes a lower supporting plate, a plate on said base, hinge means connecting said plates together at one ports extending laterally from the center of said frame- I work, means hingedly connecting the outrigger supports to the framework for pivotal movement from a position perpendicular thereto to a position alongside thereof for ease of transportation.

5. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said supporting base includes an elongated loading platform having an outer end pivotally connected to said base, folding brace means supporting the inner end of the loading platform from the base and being normally collapsed, and means for extending said folding brace means for elevating said platform into position for engagement by an occupant housing.

6. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with means mounted on said mast for lateral extension and engagement with the sub-frame for securing the subframe from free rotation about its horizontal axis.

7. The structure as defined in claim 6 wherein said means for engaging the sub-frame includes an actuating mechanism attached to the mast and engageable with a laterally extensible arm for rocking the arm in a vertical plane thereby moving the sub-frame and the occupant housing thereon in a slow manner for lowering an occupant housing for engagement by the loading platform.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,379,454 5/ 1921 Lindamood 272-36 1,555,488 9/ 1925 Siebert 272-38 X 2,537,399 1/1951 Doris 27233- 3,044,774 7/ 1962 Hannas 272- FOREIGN PATENTS 422,482 6/ 1947 Italy.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. ARNOLD W. KRAMER, Assistant Examiner, 

1. AN AMUSEMENT RIDE COMPRISING A SUPPORTING BASE AN UPRIGHT SUPPORTING MAST OPERATIVELY SUPPORTED BY SAID BASE, A LATEALLY EXTENDING ARM AT THE UPPER END OF SAID MAST, A DEPENDING FRAME SUPPORTED FROM SAID ARM FOR SWINING MOVEMENT OF THE DEPENDING FRAME ABOUT SUBSTANTIALLY A HORIZONTAL AXIS, A SUB-FRAME DISPOSED AT THE LOWER END OF THE DEPENDING FRAME, MEANS PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING THE SUB-FRAME ADJACENT ITS CENTER FROM THE LOWER END PORTION OF THE DEPENDING FRAME FOR ROTATION OF THE SUB-FRAME ABOUT A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS PARALLEL TO THE HORIZONTAL AXIS OF MOVEMENT OF THE DEPENDING FRAME, A PAIR OF OCCUPANT RECEIVING HOUSINGS MOUNTED IN SAID SUB-FRAME ADJACENT THE ENDS THEREOF, MEANS MOUNTING THE HOUSINGS IN THE SUB-FRAME FOR ROTATION THEREOF ABOUT SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AXES, EACH HOUSING HAVING AN ACCESS MEANS INCORPORATED THEREIN FOR ENABLING OCCUPANTS TO ENTER AND EGRESS IN RELATION TO THE HOUSING, AND MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE DEPENDING FRAME AND ITS SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FOR OSCILLATING THE DEPENDING FRAME ABOUT ITS HORIZONTAL AXIS OF MOVEMENT, SAID SUB-FRAME AND HOUSINGS BEING FREELY ROTATABLE ABOUT SPACED HORIZONTAL AXES. 